The War for Shogun
by Crimson-Oni
Summary: The year is 1533, the era of blood and relentless war has divided Japan into conflicting clans. Only one clan can reunite war-torn Japan under one banner...
1. Maiden in Green

Shogun

'_Thinking'_

'Talking'

Chapter 1 - Maiden of Green

"Get that rope! Hurry"

"Watch out!"

"Someone go to Milady's room and see if she is safe!"

"Yes sir"

"Oh lord have mercy..."

"Captain?"

"I...I don't think we're going to see the morning..."

"Sir?"

"Nothing, get to work man! Move! MOVE!"

The sea was merciless, toying with the small vessel, her good men being tossed over board due to the strength.

A womans voice called out " Captain! Captain Ganzoku-sama!" A petit woman dressed in a pastle green silk kimono ran to him and stubbled into his arms. "Where is my fathers ship?" Her mahogany orbs looked deep into his dark amber eyes. She was soaking the spray of the torturous sea was making even the simplest tasks fatal.

He continued to stare at her, "what are you doing out of your quarters?"

She looked at him sternly, "I go where I please Ganzoku-sama. Where is fathers ship?"

He looked away from her out to the dark waters, it was true there had been no sign of lord Shimazu's ship. His clothes clung to his musculiar body like a second skin, as the wind whipped his long black hair back, the wind howled. He felt the young woman in his arms shiver. Finally he spoke, "I...don't know... Get back to your quarters you'll be safe there! Kouinnshin! Take her!"

"Ganzoku-sama!" she was forced into the arms of Kouinnshin, is slim frame stubled back from the impact. "Let go of me! I demand that you-"

"Brace yourselfs!"

She looked up. The sky was no longer there, it had been replaced by a monsterous wave "Oh god have mercy on us..."

The wave hit the boat causing men to hit the sides, slip and fall. Kouinnshin hit the side causing the air in his lungs to escape, he cried out in pain. As for the young woman...she stubbled and plunged into the icy, dark depths of the sea.

She broke the surface of the water determined to live. The waves beat her under again and again, till she sank and the current carried her limp body else where.

The storm passed and the ship had lost nearly all its crew. A stern voice shouted "Kouinnshin-kun! wake up!" Ganzoku's hands grabbed the young mans slim frame and shook him violently. "Kouinnshin!" The force of the shaking caused him to stir and splutter. He coughed and coughed, water escaped his lungs as he gasped for air greedily.

"Captian...?" Kouinnshin stuttered, "What? Where? Where is Milady?" Ganzoku looked out at the vast expance of water. It looked so calm compared to the storm of the night. How could this be the same ocean?

"The lady of the sea has her now..." Ganzoku's gaze saddened with the thought, he glanced at Kouinnshin, the young man was carrying a heavy burden. When a soldier fails their duties they are required to commit seppuku, "the cutting of ones stomach". This would be required of Kouinnshin when he returned to the capital.

"Then I have failed..." Kouinnshin gazed upon his senior in both rank and age. This guilt he felt, why did he get thrown against the side? So weak was he now? The gods were surely laughing at him. "I will go and prepare the men, and then prepare myself for my destiny..." His sentence trailed off at the end as he walked away.

Ganzoku watch the younger male as he left._ 'Poor lad'_ Ganzoku reflected on when he first met the boy, young and bright, he was a gift from Uesugi, a "peace offering". He sighed before stubbling to his feet. _'We haven't long till the capital will be within sight'_

-Haruhi-

_'After I hit the sea bed the air escaped from my lungs. All went black as my head struck something hard causing me to enter a deep slumber. I floated for what seemed like days, My back touched solid earth once again... My mind? Hurts...I don't know..._


	2. General of Red

Shogun

Chapter 2 - The General of Red

He looked out at the ocean, enjoying it's beauty. It was so calm today - basking in the sun - stretching out towards the horizon. The vast amount of blue in its range of colours was breathe taking...

He rarely was allowed to leave the emperors side... He enjoyed the tranquil surroundings of the ocean. It allowed him to think. The chaos of the city was enough to drive a man insane, especially the youngest general in the army, if it wasn't rebels, it was women and if it was neither of these it was the emperor or his bloody advisers. He sighed loudly. _"One day it'll be my turn."_

He clenched his fist at the thought, one day it would be his turn for vengeance, however he would remain patient. He continued his quick paced gallop across the sand. The hooves of his fine jet black steed hit the solid earth beneath. It was days like this he truly halted along the grass bank - the wind caressed his skin, toying with his haori, whipping his raven hair as he rode - the sun was at its peek, high in the heavens, above his head.

He gazed out at the vast expanse of ocean before him - his silver orbs reflected the suns intense light - it was always so quiet after a at the sky you wouldn't have guessed that the province of Suoh had been beaten by Mother Nature's wrath. Looking at the sea once more, he allowed his thoughts to wander _'the storm was treacherous; the rough seas probably claimed the lives of many last night.'_ He closed his eyes.

He continued on. The sand came into a shallow natural bay, as expected there was washed up debris and cargo. But amongst all this was a small woman. A small woman wrapped in pastel green silk that clung to her. Her hair was dark and dusted with sand; the exposed skin was ghost white.

Takashi dismounted; she was so pale, _"is she dead?"_ He knelt down so he was closer to her. He placed his hand above her mouth as he checked for a was still breathing; the warm air grazed his palm. Her milky skin was extremely cold; he felt that simply touching her delicate skin would cause it to melt.

He brushed the hair off her face, she wasn't beautiful... But there was something about her that intrigued him. One of her hands was upon her stomach clutching something. A jade dragon hair pin set in silver. He removed it to look at it was stunning and of amazing craftsmanship... He looked at her then back to the hair pin. _"The only thing is… they commonly come in a pair..."_

He removed his haori and wrapped it round her slim frame. She was like ice. He bought her closer to his body, hoping that would warm her limp body.

_'I need to take you somewhere warm.'_ He thought to himself, _'but where?'_ He cradled her close to his body as he walked back towards the capital. He knew a geisha that would allow this girl to lodge in the small shrine building behind the geisha house. No one ever stepped a foot beyond the geisha house, men were far too interested in women. Plus she owed him a favour.

-

It was dark when he arrived. The geisha house was already at work. The beautiful women danced to music, flirted, poured sake and entertained the slide the door open. Not to his surprise the geisha he was looking for was already drunk. "Taka~shiiiii!" she smiled brightly at him, her choclatehair bounced as she stumbled over to meet her friend.

"Kakashima-san, I see you're drunk already," he forced a smile at the woman.

"How can you be sober at this time of night?" she asked teasingly, "oohhhh? Your here for some fun," she said as she ran her hand up and down his chest, whilst she giggled. "hmmmm... Huh? Who's this cutie? You know Taka-chan you shouldn't go knocking out random women." she crossed her arms angrily at him. "I don't do that," he stated bluntly.

"Wellll...? If you're not here to drink, hook up, or appreciate my beautiful lady. Why you here? Or were you missing me?" she pouted at him cutely. Her heavy black lashes made her violet orbs shine brightly.

"Come with me," he stated simply, taking her wrist and guiding her out of the building.

"If you wanted alone some time you only had to ask…"

"Please be sober, for five minutes, just be sober," He pleaded. He wasn't used to having to show this much emotion it was slightly humiliating. It was a mind spring night, the wind rustled the trees, it was amazing to think how loud the geisha house was.

"I can do that," she smiled widely "what do ya want?"

"The shrine house."

"Why? It hasn't been lived in for years! Oh!"

"_Finally she gets it."_

"You did get her now you're disposing of the body! Oh my god…" She covered her mouth horrified with her 'new found knowledge' "You know a river would be far more efficient."

"I didn't kill-"The small woman in his arms shivered violently catching his attention, _"if she doesn't warm up she'll be dead soon."_

"Follow me," Kashi beckoned him to follow. He looked at her startled by how sober she sounded. "Let's get her to a bed at least. You don't have to explain, don't worry." She smiled at him, he had his mothers eyes… they had the same intense glow. She knew that he wouldn't give up on this woman's life even if she had, that was just how he was, and unfortunately he wasn't about to change...

Thank you for reading. I really appreciate it, Thank you very much.


	3. The Merchant and The Genius

Chapter 3 – The merchant and the genius

"Hush! You'll wake her!" a strong woman's voice commanded in a gentle tone.

"You sure it's a girl?"

"Looks like a boy to me..." High pitched feminine voices whispered

"How about you go make yourselves presentable hmm? M—i-Sama will arrive soon."

Suddenly the room was thrown into chaos, the noise it was almost unbearable... "god they're so loud..." she shivered. Nobody seemed to notice. There was scurrying and clamouring as people ran to connecting rooms.

"Mother! Why didn't you tell us?!" One of the women cried

"He is still single right?" Another shouted as a door slid shut. She felt a cool hand touch her forehead.

"It's ok love, they're gone now" She wanted to open her eyes and see the owner of that kind voice. A door slide open and three pairs of footsteps entered the room.

"Konichiwaaa" a man's voice said, it had a strong western accent... exceptionally foreign sounding...

"Hush baka," a cool voice hissed. "Excuse our intrusion Hayami-san, but the general insisted that he saw she was well before proceeding to court," the same voice explained

"That is most gracious of you, but I fear that it won't make any difference, she is still asleep," the woman's voice replied. "Do not delay for her sake she won't realise. Is the summons one of importance?"

"Lord Takaeda's first son will be arriving in the capital soon, Mori-sama is to provide an escort platoon," The calm voice spoke with an air of authority than commanded obedience.

She heard the faint sound of giggling from behind the thin paper doors behind her. She let out an audible groan. She felt a large ruff hand press lightly against her forehead, she opened her eyes a crack but her view was still a bit obscured from her eyelashes. _'How long ...have I ...been asleep?' _She thought, "Ah! My head..." she moaned, shifting she began to sit up.

"My apologises," a deep voice replied.

"She's awake!" The foreign voice shouted.

"Huh?" she opened her eyes. A man of large frame dressed in monk armour sat to her left as the woman she must have heard sat to her right. The man was significantly bigger than the other occupants in the room and the heavy robes and armour he domed made him appear larger. He had a slim face with high cheek bones, dark skin and hair with silver eyes. His face however held no emotion.

The Woman to her right was small with a generous figure garbed in a blue kimono and long black hair that draped over her shoulder. Beautiful large eyes that were showed honest emotions and a small mole like a tear under her right eye.

The man directly in front of her did not resemble men of Japan. To begin with his hair caught the light and glittered like fine strands of gold. He had milky skin and large innocent blue eyes. She had never seen men like this before... _"I'm not sure if he's human..." _she thought.

The last occupant in the room was a tall slim man of not huge build. He wasn't a warrior like the man beside her he was more elegant, with dark beauty. Mid length jet hair and violet eyes, almost transparent skin, _"he must be of noble birth..." _ Only Noblemen remained that pale, most men were enlisted in the army and their once pale skin became tarnished from the sun. She sat and stared at them. _"This is too much"_ she thought... _"Where am I?" _She looked at her hands... _"Wait...whose hands are these? These are my hands... so who am I?" _

"Who..." She began to speak but was cut off by the energetic blonde.

"Me is Tamaki, well that be Japanese name given to me by Kyoya-kun!"

"Excuse his poor Japanese," The owner of the cool voice began, "he's not from here. He's from the new world to the west. France apparently, he's a merchant. I'm Ootori Kyoya the third son of the Daimyo of Takaeda. And probably never going to be daimyo for that matter, so that makes me a rather bitter individual," He forced a sinister, sadistic fake smile before continuing. The man beside you is the heir of Mori, my vassal, Morinozuka Takashi; first son of Mori Motonari. Arguably the best general this side of Honshu and certainly the youngest. Some say a rival for the young warlord Uesugi Kenshin in the east.

She wanted to recognise the names... a part of her was sure she had heard of these men before, Uesugi, Takaeda and Mori... She "ahh... my head..." she grumbled she really couldn't remember anything.

"I shall go make some tea," the woman beside her stood, bowed and shuffled to the door behind them. Door behind slid open and more giggles poured into the room. "Girls what have I said about spying on mother whilst she speaks with quests?" The woman stated sternly. She didn't look old but she obviously commanded the respect of these younger women.

"Sorry mother!" One of them cried.

"We only wished to gaze upon the young lords..." Another added. There was a sigh.

"Away with you, go practice your dancing and music for this evening," The was sharp clap and the scattering of feet.

"Women," Kyoya said "Can't live with them..."

Tamaki cut in "Can't live without them?"

"No. Just can't live with them," Kyoya finished. She watched Tamaki grow paler, they were obviously fond of one another but you certainly knew who was in charge. She glanced to the side where the man named Mori sat. He hadn't moved or taken part in the conversations, he hadn't even confirmed if he was who Kyoya had said he was. The large monk robes were a clean white apart for a large splash of red over his left shoulder across his chest; the robes were tied tight around his waist with a red obi. For a warrior he didn't wear the huge plates of armour that the classic samurai wore he had a single sode (should plate), haidate (thigh guards) on his legs and tekko (gauntlets, armoured gloves and bracers for wrists) but the rest of his body was only covered in the white robes of a Zen Buddhist monk. He was looking directly at her; his eyes did not waver when they made contact with hers he just continued to look at her. _"His gaze is disturbing... nothing seems to hinder it..."_ She shifted uncomfortably under his watch.

The woman that had left minutes ago returned with a pot of tea and dainty cups. "How do you feel love?" She asked kindly, smiling at her.

"She has a temperature Hayami-san," Mori interjected.

"Are you sure that's not your own heat? It's Haru (Spring) outside Takashi-kun and your wrapped up as if its Fuyu (Winter) outside." She retorted

His expression did not falter.

"Ummm... Hayami-san, how did I get here? Actually where is here?" She glanced back at the samurai beside her; his gaze was still upon her. She felt hot under his critical gaze, she shifted and itched her neck... what was he looking for?

The youthful blonde responded "you is in Suo!" He smiled widely.

"Ok... umm... Do any of you know who I am?"

Thank you for readinnnggg!

Sorry I didn't update sooner- Thank you again for reading this


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